


By His Name

by Kunstpause



Series: Worlds And Times Apart [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: F/M, Past Relationship(s), Reunited lovers, Romance, WoL is neither blind nor stupid and is having none of his angsting around
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-04-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:00:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23910472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kunstpause/pseuds/Kunstpause
Summary: Years ago she had lost him to a legacy that needed protection, all but certain she would never see him again. But not even years of mourning and the journey to another world could ever make her forget that voice...
Relationships: G'raha Tia | Crystal Exarch/Warrior of Light
Series: Worlds And Times Apart [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1735438
Comments: 4
Kudos: 56





	By His Name

The knock on the door was quiet, but in the absolute silence of the night, there was no way that Bia could have overheard it. She hadn’t been asleep yet. With everything that had happened since she got here, combined with the unsettling brightness from outside, it was hard to convince her body that it was indeed night and she should go to sleep. She put down her book, got out of the chair she had made herself comfortable in, and went to open the door. Who was behind it came as no surprise. It wasn’t like she knew anyone else in this place.

“Exarch,” she greeted him friendly. “Come to check up on me once more?”

“I…” For a second, he seemed hesitant, as if he hadn’t quite thought this through, but with a small shake of his head he straightened up. “Yes, actually. I thought I’d see if you were settling in and ask if you need anything.”

“You mean besides a million more answers?” she asked with a dry chuckle. 

The Exarch seemed flustered again for the briefest of moments before nodding. “Besides that, yes.”

Bia still wasn’t certain just what to think of all this. Of him. He hadn’t been like that before. This laid back and careful. The bashfulness so unlike the person she remembered. So much in fact that she had entertained the thought of having it all wrong more than once since she had arrived here. But whenever she questioned her own senses, there had been a gesture, a turn of phrase, or a melody in his voice that was painstakingly familiar. She knew this man. Why he went to such lengths to conceal his face and speak to her as if they had never met before was beyond her, though. Maybe it was time to find out.

“Come in then,” she stepped aside to let him pass. Instantly, the hesitation was back on the parts of his face she could see.

“I shouldn’t.” His voice sounded strained at his abrupt answer, and Bia shot him a wink.

“Afraid people might talk?”

“The Crystarium is not a very big place, news travels fast.”

At that, she had to snort. “Then standing in front of my door for a prolonged period of time in the middle of the night will definitely make people talk. Get inside!”

With a sigh and a quick look around to make sure the hallway was indeed empty, he followed suit, quietly shutting the door behind him. Before the silence between them could become uncomfortable, Bia decided to simply press the issue.

“I know who you are,” she stated calmly, but with a certainty in her voice that left no room for doubt. 

The Exarch took a step back, his surprise at her sudden declaration clearly visible in his suddenly tense shoulders.

“Come on, give me some credit,” Bia added with a shrug. “Look at where we are standing. And you may hide your face but you didn’t disguise your voice. You really thought I’d forget your voice?” She shook her head, a fond smile appearing on her face. “It’s been five years, but I think my memory is quite intact.”

“Five years…”

Something in the Exarch’s voice was off. Odd. It took only a second for Bia to realize why he sounded so wistful all of a sudden.

“It hasn’t been five years for you…” She whispered. Of course not. There was an entire city built around the tower. She had met people who said their grandparents had hailed his call. “The Crystarium is almost a century old,” Bia murmured as the pieces started to fit together. 

In front of her the Exarch let out a deep breath. “It’s… been a while,” he said, a peculiar note of nostalgia in his voice as he noticeably didn’t offer up any contradictions to her claims of knowing him. Bia drew in a deep breath, but as if he knew exactly what she wanted to say next, he held up a hand to stop her from talking.

“Please, I beg of you, don’t.” His voice held an almost pleading tone. “Don’t use that name I  _ know _ is on your tongue.” His head shook slightly and his shoulders sank at her confused and somewhat hurt expression. “I have not heard it spoken in over a hundred years. To hear it now would be… unsettling,” he explained quietly.

“Even from me?” Bia couldn’t stop herself from asking. The smile appearing on the Exarch’s lips was soft. 

“Especially from you,” he said, and his tone left no doubt about the sorrow he felt, his smile no longer able to hide it away. 

Bia wasn’t sure she fully understood. She wasn’t even sure if she had the capacity to. So much time had passed for him, and from the looks of it, the years had been filled with strife and countless hardships. How was she even supposed to begin grasping the scope of all this? 

“I remind you of someone you don’t want to be anymore?” she asked, careful to keep her voice as neutral as she could. She didn’t want it to sound like an accusation. 

“No!” came the Exarch’s answer immediately. He shook his head emphatically. “On the contrary, if anything, you remind me of who I always dreamed I could be.” 

There was such open honesty in his words that Bia had no reason to doubt his sincerity. As confusing as all of it felt to her. “But still you won’t let me see your face, or call you by your name,” she said softly.

“I’ve labored long and hard for the people of Norvrandt, to become who they need me to be,” he said, looking past her at the brightly illuminated garden outside her window. As if looking at her was too hard for him. “I need to keep being the Exarch, for you and for all of them. And I…” He took a deep breath, straightening up again. “I’m afraid I don’t know how to be who I was and still be who I need to be. Not right now.” His voice had gotten even softer, close to a whisper now. “It’s been a very long time. That face, that name, that  _ person _ may not exist anymore.”

Bia felt her heart beating faster at his words. She hadn’t been wrong after all. As incredible and confusing as it was, nothing mattered but the confirmation that she had been right. No matter what he said about being someone else by now, she could feel the man she had been missing, mourning all those years right in front of her. And without further thought, she surged forward, past the issue of carefully maintained distance and right into his space. She didn’t need to see his face to know what she was doing. A faint shimmer of red greeted her from beneath his cowl before she closed her eyes just as her lips met his.

For a blissful second, it felt almost like time had not only stopped but gone out of its way to take her back. Back to a summery warm day, the smell of wildflowers around them as the sunlight tickled her nose on the wide and open fields of Mor Dhona. Faint noises of a camp full of gleeful explorers and the low hum of activity in Revenant's Toll coming from the far distance.

The surreal feeling passed. But when it did, Bia couldn’t even mourn it as she realized the Exarch hadn’t moved away, that he was kissing her back. A low growl, that sounded almost on the verge of purring, left his lips as his hands were suddenly on her, wandering up her back and pulling her closer. Bia gasped as he deepened the kiss, turning them around and trapping her between him and the wall. 

“How long have I waited,” he murmured quietly before kissing her deeply once again. He clung to her like he was drowning, his kisses those of a man starved for far too long, and Bia shuddered under the intensity of it. Five years of missing him and not knowing if she would ever see him again had felt like a lot, only for her to realize now that it was nothing in comparison. 

Bia’s fingers trailed over his chest and his shoulders, feeling the soft fabric of his robes over an all too familiar shape. One of her hands slipped underneath his cowl, burying itself in soft hair. He let out a soft moan as she pulled him closer before he suddenly stilled. He leaned back ever so slightly, not so far as to break their embrace but nevertheless enough.

“I shouldn’t have,” he murmured quietly, and Bia quickly shook her head.

“Don’t apologize please,” she begged. “Not for this!” She could bear many things, but something in her knew that his regret would weigh heavier than most hardships she experienced.

To her relief, he smiled softly at her. “You are, as you usually are, right. I shall not.” The smile turned lopsided as he added, with a familiar hint of mirth in his voice, “To say I am sorry would be a lie.” He chuckled lightly before shaking his head in disbelief. “But the timing is… most unfortunate.”

“Most unfortunate?” Bia let out a laugh. His dry tone made it obvious that this was the understatement of the century. Her hand left his hair, cradling his cheek as she gave him an expectant look. “Just answer me this: Will you tell me the whole story one day? It doesn’t have to be now, just… at some point?”

Instinctively, he had leaned into the familiar touch. His eyes closed for a brief moment and his breathing was still slightly uneven as he nodded. “You will hear the full story. That I can promise.”

“Then we are good,” Bia smiled widely at him. “If you’ve waited for a couple of decades, I can give you some more time, I think.”

There was only honesty in his voice as he opened his eyes again and let out a heartfelt “Thank you!” 

She felt the urge to whisper his name well up in her. If only to make it real. Despite feeling his skin against hers, everything about the situation still felt like a strange and unrealistic dream. But she would try her best and respect his wishes. For now.

As if the Exarch sensed her struggle, he let out a sigh before finally letting go and stepping away from her. “It is best if I go, you need to rest if you are to find Alisaie in the morning,” he said, and Bia nodded as she watched him.

“Exarch?” she said very deliberately, as he turned to leave. “You feel very much the same to me. I am all but certain the man I once knew is still there, hanging around.”

He let out a small chuckle as he stepped outside. “Perhaps he is,” he agreed. “Time will tell. I’ll see you in the morning.” 

And with that, the door closed behind him, and Bia was alone again. Only this time, she didn’t feel half as lonely as she had since arriving here. With a smile on her face, she settled down into the reading chair again and picked her book back up. The thought about being stuck in this strange new place suddenly seeming much less daunting than before.


End file.
